these are iconic images. Chuck I think that there has been great progress. Not all people change and they do not all change at once, it is a process that takes decades and decades, but it happens. There has long been an undercurrent of resentment and suppressed hatred.

What is new is that the desire to make news and to sell news and to make money and to become powerful has sunk to a new low. Our current president tapped into this, and Fox is also doing everything it can to tap into it. It is all about segmenting the market and then monetizing it (whether it be dollars or votes). A lot of people think what they think. So, today (more than in the past), those that should be more responsible are simply telling those segments what they want to hear.

It is not shocking to me that we live in an age of hatred (we always have). The shocking thing to me is that our fourth arm of government (the media) has decided to do the equivalent of chasing facebook likes by telling specific segments of our population exactly what they want to hear. With no regard to consequence and no sense of morality.

Today there is a special brand of arrogance that feels it can say or do anything. It has been made bold by money and by acceptance. I find it disgusting and it makes me sick and very discouraged. Today it is OK (more so than ever before) to LIE.

edit - to get back to topic.. Image one - dignity, grace, poise while in a position of weakness. Image two - hatred and anger while in a position of strength. YES, pictures convey emotions and tell a story and potentially change the world.

Thank you Piet, for your thoughts (and I do agree with your conclusions about our current predicament, which each day shocks me anew). And thanks as well for building the bridge between these two images in a way that is succinct and profound. You are so right.

I wonder, sometimes, what my forebears would make of all of this. I'm pretty sure that some of them had various prejudices that I don't share, but they placed dignity, honesty, and personal integrity above all, so whatever views they held were constrained by those qualities. We lost a lot when we decided those qualities no longer mattered.

"God gave me photography so that I could pray with my eyes" - Dewitt Jones

these are iconic images. Chuck I think that there has been great progress. Not all people change and they do not all change at once, it is a process that takes decades and decades, but it happens. There has long been an undercurrent of resentment and suppressed hatred.

What is new is that the desire to make news and to sell news and to make money and to become powerful has sunk to a new low. Our current president tapped into this, and Fox is also doing everything it can to tap into it. It is all about segmenting the market and then monetizing it (whether it be dollars or votes). A lot of people think what they think. So, today (more than in the past), those that should be more responsible are simply telling those segments what they want to hear.

It is not shocking to me that we live in an age of hatred (we always have). The shocking thing to me is that our fourth arm of government (the media) has decided to do the equivalent of chasing facebook likes by telling specific segments of our population exactly what they want to hear. With no regard to consequence and no sense of morality.

Today there is a special brand of arrogance that feels it can say or do anything. It has been made bold by money and by acceptance. I find it disgusting and it makes me sick and very discouraged. Today it is OK (more so than ever before) to LIE.

edit - to get back to topic.. Image one - dignity, grace, poise while in a position of weakness. Image two - hatred and anger while in a position of strength. YES, pictures convey emotions and tell a story and potentially change the world.

Thank you Piet, for your thoughts (and I do agree with your conclusions about our current predicament, which each day shocks me anew). And thanks as well for building the bridge between these two images in a way that is succinct and profound. You are so right.

I wonder, sometimes, what my forebears would make of all of this. I'm pretty sure that some of them had various prejudices that I don't share, but they placed dignity, honesty, and personal integrity above all, so whatever views they held were constrained by those qualities. We lost a lot when we decided those qualities no longer mattered.

One thing that I did not mention that I believe is a factor is economy. If you are poor and feel that you take care of yourself, then sometimes you don't want to share with the guy that came from somewhere else (why help him, no one helped me). I think the poor are becoming more so, and the middle class is eroding. The rich seem to be in the process of becoming the ultra-rich. Sometimes I have the impression that the ultra rich have sold a bill of goods to one of the factions. The haters have always been hated, now they are accepted and pandered to. There is (in my opinion) serious manipulation at play and it is difficult if not impossible to fight since the qualities of honesty, dignity, and integrity no longer seem to matter.

Well, they do matter to a certain degree... If a poor man is found to be dishonest, he is shunned. If a rich man is found to be dishonest, then he is admired for being skilled at manipulation. We still require our teachers, our soldiers, our police, to be honest, have integrity and have dignity. (Note that in today's world, while folks in those professions are likely better off than someone without employment, they are not Much better off).

About photoMentoris

The founding principles of photoMENTORIS is to have a place where professional and enthusiast photographers could come and meet in order to teach, share and learn from each other. It is our goal to foster this principle in an atmosphere that encourages creativity and exploration and promotes the advancement of our art through peer mentoring and supportive critique, while having fun along the way.